‘Peace or protocol?’: Loyalist protesters say the government has a choice to make
They were beating the drums so hard in Newtownards, County Down, you could almost have heard them in Downing Street.
Loyalists are taking to the streets of Northern Ireland on an almost weekly basis to demand Boris Johnson scraps the Irish Sea border.
Jamie Bryson organised this rally. A loyalist close to the thinking of some paramilitaries, he says the government has a choice to make.
The loyalist protesters are opposed to the idea of a border in the Irish Sea
Mr Bryson said: “It says on the banner peace or the protocol, it’s your choice. They can listen or they cannot listen.
“But if they want to have peace and stability in Northern Ireland, then they’re going to have to make a change to the partition of the United Kingdom.”
Asked about the danger of bringing people onto the streets, he said it was more dangerous to partition the UK.
“If unionism don’t stand now and don’t take to the streets now, then what else do they do?” he asked.
The UK and EU agreed to put the Northern Ireland Protocol in place to avoid the introduction of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit.
At the rally on Friday, platform speakers like Baroness Hoey said the protocol threatened the Good Friday Agreement rather than protected it.
Baroness Hoey said the protocol threatened the Good Friday Agreement
The sea border has left this community feeling isolated from the rest of the United Kingdom, their British identity under threat.
Heather Ramsay, who attended the protest, said: “We have to get rid of the protocol. The protocol must go. It’s diluting our unionism with Britain.
“We’re feeling very alone, we’re feeling as if we’ve been abandoned, we’re feeling as if nobody wants us to be part of them.”
Loyalists view the sea border as appeasement – the EU’s response to threats of republican violence in the event of a border on this island.
But that’s created the dangerous impression that violence or the threat of it brings reward.
Hazel Officer, another participant in the rally, said: “The other side have got everything they wanted by causing mayhem, fear and death.
“Maybe it’s about time we thought about doing the same. I certainly am willing to give my life for it.”
Heather Ramsay said the unionist community is ‘feeling very alone’
These people did not expect Brexit to result in an Irish Sea border and feel betrayed by the the prime minister.
That has left unionist parties, like the DUP, boxed in with no room for any compromise to save devolved government.
In other words, Brexit and its consequences could signal the end of power-sharing at Stormont, leaving a dangerous political vacuum.
UK
Philip Young appears in Swindon court charged with 56 sexual offences against ex-wife – as five others also charged
A man has appeared in court charged with drugging and raping his ex-wife over a 13-year period.
Philip Young, 49, formerly of Swindon, has been charged with 56 offences, including multiple counts of rape, against Joanne Young.
He is also charged with administering a substance to allow sexual activity, as well as voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme images.
Young appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court this morning and spoke only to confirm his name and address.
He declined to enter a plea and was remanded in custody until the next hearing at Swindon Crown Court on 23 January.
The alleged offences took place between 2010 and 2023.
Philip Young was remanded in custody
The 49-year-old was taken to court in Swindon on Tuesday morning
Five other men have also been charged with sexual offences against Ms Young. The 48-year-old has waived her legal right to anonymity.
The full list of charges against Philip Young are:
- 11 counts of rape
- seven counts of sexual assault by penetration
- four counts of sexual touching
- 11 counts of administering a substance with intent to stupefy/overpower to allow sexual activity
- 13 counts of voyeurism specific to videos
- Voyeurism on at least 200 other occasions
- Possession of Indecent Images of Children:
Category A – 139
Category B – 68
Category C – 23
Prohibited – 3
Extreme – 82 (with one count each for four types: rape, animals, death, gore)
Breaching S1 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 on at least 500 occasions
The other men appeared at the same court later on and were released on conditional bail.
They are: Norman Macksoni, 47, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire. He is a black British national and has been charged with one count of rape and possession of extreme images.
Dean Hamilton, 47, of no fixed abode. He is a white British national and has been charged with one count of rape and sexual assault by penetration and two counts of sexual touching.
Court artist sketch of Philip Young (right) appearing at Swindon Magistrates’ Court. Pic: Elizabeth Cook/PA
Conner Sanderson Doyle, 31, of Swindon. He is a white British national and has been charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching
Richard Wilkins, 61, of Swindon. He is a white British national and has been charged with one count of rape and sexual touching
Mohammed Hassan, 37, of Swindon. He is a British Asian and has been charged with sexual touching.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024